Though it took me a good half-hour to set up, "finding" the shots was actually pretty easy. Go for creepy, let Kat's neck and face do the work, look for the shots that were slightly unsettling, like an odd tilt of the head or extension of the neck.

I shot far less than I expected, as well, it just came together so well, didn't require too much experimentation. All mainly due to Kat herself, it was her idea and she was 100% in on doing what it took, if that meant getting fake blood in her eye, or letting it pour into her mouth, or sitting topless outside in 50 degree weather...I mean, I love photography, but I'm not getting fake blood on the carpet.

NEW AND DIFFERENT IMAGES ON INSTAGRAM

Tags:   2.11.19 Kat Ginsburg Los Angeles portrait

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*looks at MRI authorization* Seems like I might have possible posterior impingement syndrome in the left shoulder...so instead of surfing, I've taken to walking around the neighborhood.

Much like I did here with Mal & JJ, I walked well past where I normally would during a shoot, looking for new and different places. I like to walk before dawn, it's less populated, the stillness is soothing. I'll put on a podcast and gaze at my city with "soft eyes".

Dead end private streets I've never noticed. Buildings that take pains to hide what's inside. Front lawns expertly manicured. Lots left empty for years.

Means taking a different route every day, so I don't get lazy when it comes to looking around, but right now, the city, every building, every yard, every half-hidden backyard, it's a feast for the eyes.

Tags:   6.2.23 polaroid 680 Mal Corinne JJ Hawkins WPD23People portrait

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Can't repeat it enough: I fucking adore these two. Past few months, hanging with them, have been an utter and total blast.

Part of the reason I've been shooting so much lately, have enjoyed shooting so much lately, is because it affords me the opportunity to hang out with Laura and Emily.

Basically, I'd be shooting every day, if their schedules permitted it.

So, if you two could be so kind as to quit your job and drop out of school (respectively), I'd really appreciate it.

Seriously.

In any event, more shoots coming around the end of this week. As such, later today, Emily and I will go scouting for a potential new location in which to shoot.

Because, frankly, I've run out of locations. I've used parks a bunch, homes, roads, pumpkin patches, apartment buildings, ranches. Need some new spots here in LA. Spots that have even light, and a scarcity of prying eyes. Suggestions?

Emily being cute, up on the blog: blog.louobedlam.com/post/66374456/aint-emily-a-peach-not-...

Tags:   11.30.08 mamiya c330 kodak portra 400vc portrait emily van ness santa monica laura taylor the darling life ain't they sweet as carolina peaches? there are no two people i'd rather shoot with no, really, I'm a bastard. Parents weren't married or nothin' rainbow!!! smiles!!! i had an acid trip like this once!!! Lou O' Bedlam Lou Noble

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This was the shot I'd been trying to take for...well, months. I was looking for a way to distill my style through a vertical frame...real "inside baseball" nonsense, but I was trying, shoot after shoot, looking for My Shot within a different orientation.

And here it was, only took a few minutes of shooting that afternoon, and there it was.

Didn't really do it again, not with this kind of energy. Ain't that always the way, it really only ever worked perfectly with this shot, this face, this light.

Couldn't have done it without Hannah Rose, our rapport at that particular moment was tight as a drum, we'd gone from six months between shoots to two weeks, to ten days, to one day, to no days...

It was the perfect culmination of that collaboration. Back-lit, afternoon LA light, working in concert with my subject, balancing precariously on some rocks, in that state of flow I'm so often chasing.

Oh, and the photos were good, too.

Tags:   4.13.18 Hannah Rose Murphy portrait

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With several shoots planned for this day, I thought it a great time to try out an idea I had, shoving sx70 film into my Polaroid 680.

For the uninitiated, that means putting a much slower film into my camera that my camera would not recognize, I'd have to make the adjustments myself and trick it into taking an appropriately-lit photo.

But it would, hopefully, also mean I'd have more latitude to shoot during situations with intense sunlight, like the day we found ourselves in.

Ava, we'd never met, but she was easy-going in a way I usually only find with people I've worked with several times, she was patient as I messed around with the film, was willing to run around and use a trampoline to jump over me...many times.

It's exhausting, those trampoline shots, you don't realize how tiring it can be to jump up and down on one of those things.

But she didn't complain, probably would've done it until she dropped.

I myself do not have such fortitude (I get tired, I'm out!), so I appreciated it from her.

And then we got this shot and it was off to the races. Gave up on the trampoline, stayed in close, we all had ourselves a blast.

Went and bought another few packs of sx70 film when I got home.

Tags:   4.8.22 Ava Monet polaroid 680 sx70 film portrait

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